Stanton by Dale FP18

Ken Brockway, Footpath Inspector

This article is from Signpost 62, Spring 2020

Members who came on the long walk from Ilkeston in 2017 will recall with horror the walk across a stockyard of concrete pipes on Stanton by Dale FP18. On my last inspection, September 2019, I was pleased to see some progress. The line of the path had been delineated by placing said concrete pipes along the line of the path with waymark arrows attached to the pipe ends (see photograph below).

This improvement was reported to DCC along with a further complaint that a significant man made change in ground level needed improving with steps. DCC has now reported: "The landowner has now carried out some work to make access easier (see photograph), but I shall advise them that it needs a properly constructed set of steps with a handrail in respect of Occupier’s Liability.  They may apply for a diversion in any case to take the path around the perimeter of the site."

The steps are shown in the picture supplied by DCC. It's difficult to imagine what H&S would say if steps such as these were provided for use by the site workforce. So how come the site owners consider they are safe for us?

Next: Cat and Fiddle